US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter landed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad Thursday for talks with military and political officials on the ongoing offensive against Daesh militants in the country, AFP reported.
In his first visit to Iraq since assuming office in February, Carter is expected to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, as well as tribal leaders from the western Anbar province, where Iraqi forces and majority-Shiite militias have been focusing a large-scale counteroffensive against Daesh strongholds in Ramadi and Fallujah.
Sources also expect the defense chief to meet with US troops stationed in Iraq to train local militias fighting Daesh. 3,500 US troops are currently on the ground in Iraq, many of whom have been training a group of around 6,000 Sunni recruits at a base near Anbar province’s Daesh-held capital Ramadi.
The US currently leads an international coalition conducting airstrikes against Daesh targets in both Syria and Iraq.
